Not A Burden
by Eyes-of-Crimson
Summary: Oneshot in Joey's POV. All of us were great friends, stayin' t'gether through thick an' thin, but none of us was a greater friend than Ryou Bakura. summary changed 8905


**disclaimer: i don't own YGO or anything else patented. all i own is the plot and any OCs.  
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also, sorry if any of this is inaccurate. i haven't seen the whole series, just bits and pieces from AMVs and fanfics. Also, JOEY ISN'T GAY! NOT YAOI! sorry if it seems that way at some points, but it's not.**

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**Not A Burden**

It only seems like yesterday that all of us were together, laughin' an' talkin' about our dreams, our ambitions, our _futures_. All of us were great friends, stayin' t'gether through thick an' thin, but none of us was a greater friend that Ryou Bakura. He never complained about anything, never wanting to make us worry. All he wanted was fer all of us to be safe and happy, no matter what it cost him. I remember when we first met, he sat next to me. Yug, Tea, Tristan and I visited his house the next day when he didn't come to school.

When he opened the door, he had the most horrified look on his face but then it changed to a smugger one. Yami Bakura. Bakura was trying to warn us not to come in, but his psychotic yami tricked us. Bakura sacrificed a lot for us that day when we played "Monster World"; his hand, his friends, his _life_. He really saved our butts that day, tho' we may never realize it. We've been overshadowing him for years, when some of the time it was _him_ who saved us, not Yami or Yugi.

Then da Duelist Kingdom. I admit he was a scared little guy, but he never turned back on us. He stayed by our sides even when we took no notice of him at all. Me, I would've been on th' other side of the island if a skeleton fell on _me_! (I hate that scary crap.) Also, he found my wallet, with my picture of Serenity in it. If he hadn't found that, I'd be on the other side of that island anyway. Tristan told me all the things that he did when they went to go rescue Mokuba Kaiba. I knew it couldn't be him, and I was right. It was Yami Bakura, the psycho that screwed everything up.

When we went ta go find the pharaoh's memory, the Millennium Scales told him that his soul wasn't pure. My ass. It was the Millenium Ring and Bakura's yami! Bakura just looked absolutely confused but accepted it. His voice was cracking. I know he could've just put the Ring somewhere else and go wit' us, but he didn't wanna waste our time. He does a lot for us, doesn't wanna make us worried.

I don't know what was goin' on wit' him durin' Kaiba's tournament, tho'. All I know is that he showed up with Namu, who was Marik, with a bloody left arm. We took him to the hospital, and expected him to stay there, not to continue on. At the blimp, he showed up, walking and talking like nothing happened. We told him he should be in da hospital, but he just said,

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

He seemed to say that a lot after that. During his and Yami's duel, Yami Bakura took over. That was the most psychotic duel I'd ever see, next to Yami Malik versus Yami, anyway. Near da end, Bakura came back into control of himself. He just looked around, falling to his knees and squeezing his left arm. The look on his face was so lost, like he didn't know what the heck was goin' on. He looked at his arm and said something, but he was too far away for us to hear. Yami, just about as confused as we were, asked him if he was awright. Then Yami Bakura returned, and ended in a smokey fade. He almost killed Bakura that day, and we were positive that he'd never return. We were positive, absolutely positive.

The Millennium Ring was gone.

Now he shows up at school everyday with cuts and bruises all over him. Every once in a while he'll come in limping or have a black eye or his arm in a makeshift sling. We ask him everyday what's wrong, he just says,

"It's nothing. Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Everyday. Every. Single. Day.

Then one day I came in with a hurt ankle from skating. He looked worried and immediately asked me,

"Joey! Are you alright? What happened? Is there anything I do to help?" That day I just looked at him. He had a right black eye, left arm in a sling, limping heavily, bruises and cuts everywhere, and a speck or two of blood in his hair. Then I said,

"You worry so much about us but you never seem to worry about yourself. Let us help you, bud." He just gave me a shocked look.

"I don't want to make you all worry about me. I don't want to be a burden on your consciences." he told me solemnly. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Bakura, let us take you t' a doc! You won't be a burden on us! I promise."

"And have you, Yugi, Tea and Tristan walk all that way just for _me_? I'm sorry, but I have to decline." I hate the way he emphasized the "me" part. Then the bell rang. "Ah, I have to go, Joey. Put some ice on your ankle and keep it elevated on a couple of pillows when you get home and try not to walk or run on it." he said hurriedly and limped just about as fast a limping-person could limp out the room and back to his apartment. I only stared after him.

He puts _us_ as his first priority.

Not schoolwork, not financial problems, not _himself_. Us. His friends. His enemies. His acquaintances. Strangers. Anybody he knows.

They, we, go first.

He never tells us his problems, his fears. He sometimes shares what his dreams and ambitions are, but he acts like he just wants to listen. Like a child being read a story, he just sits there and listens to our conversations, taking in every word.

I got the guys to talk to him, one-on-one. They came back unsuccessful. He was so determined to not burden us with his problems, as if he would. We told him we _want_ to help him, save him, _rescue_ him. He just shakes his head, smiles, and says the unforgettable line,

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine!"

We all just watch him come to school with more cuts, scrapes, bruises, everything you can think of...almost. Yami thinks that Yami Bakura's abusing Bakura. He didn't know how that'd be possible, but it was the only thing we had. Yami and I went up to him, didn't ask about the wounds, just talked and laughed for a long time. Bakura was happier that day, more alert and talkative. I guess it's makes him happy when we don't worry about him like we always do. Us three did this for a coupla days, then Yami got serious.

"Bakura, we need to know if anything's hurting, bothering, or just annoying you. Your injuries are serious and they need treatment." he told him. Bakura stopped laughing and got a shocked look on his face. "Is anyone bullying you? Is anyone _hurting_ you?" Bakura got the "oh crap" look on his face.

"You don't need to bother." he said quietly, head cast down and away.

"Bakura, we're your _friends_! You're not a burden on us!" I tried to convince him. He looked up at us. His eyes were brimming wit' tears.

"You don't need to worry about me, guys. My problems are my problems, you don't need to worry about me." he told us, voice starting to crack. I felt a wave of guilt wash over me; I didn't mean ta make 'im cry!

"Bakura, we want to help! We want to stop whoever's hurting you! Don't be afraid to accept help, bud." I tell him as comforting as I can. He just blinks and a tear falls. I don't like seein' anyone cry, especially my friends.

"I'm fine, everything's okay. So **stop worrying about me**!" Bakura said, ending in a rare raised voice. He then ran from us as fast as his legs could carry him. Yami and I made no movement to chase him. We just stood there, watching the speck of white and blue race away from us.

We didn't know we'd never see him again.

He's not dead, he's alive. We go to his apartment every-now-and-then, knock on the door and/or ring the bell, and we hear footsteps rushing to the door. Then midway they gradually stop and then just stand there, about two-three feet from the door if I remember the inside correctly. Then after a long half-minnit, they back away slowly, then run back. I don't know why he's like this, we've told him he's not a burden! He's not! Well...he wasn't, but now he is. We worry about him every minnit, the teachers ask where he is, and once even _Kaiba_ questioned us about Bakura's absence.

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Now, we're all graduating from Domino High. We all thought he'd be back by now, but we've got no word from him. It's a shame, our graduating picture is missing a white haired, brown-eyed British dude who was one of the greatest friends a guy could have. I'm with Mai, Yami's wit' Tea (I still feel sorry for Yug), and Tristan and Duke are still fightin' over my sis. Kaiba's a richer jerk, Mokuba's got honor role, everyone's just peachy. 

We still worry and fret over Bakura, we go to his apartment, call him, and send him letters. We never get replies to anything. He's alive, he'll pick up the phone by accident, start to speak then slam the phone right back down.

I just wonder if we'll ever get ta see him again...


End file.
